The word Hapkido can be broken down into three parts:
합 : Hap Means "harmony" or "coordination".
기 : Ki Means "power" or "energy"
도 : Do Means "the way" or "the art of"
Loosely translated Hapkido means "the art of power coordination". The origin of the name for this particular martial art is often debated. Hapkido was once thought to have been first coined by Yong Sul Choi and his first student Bok Sub Suh. However, there are some who believe it was Han Jae Ji who first came up with name and then passed it on to Choi as a sign of respect.
When training in Hapkido, it is useful to keep the meaning of the art's name in mind. At all times, you should think about how you can best "coordinate your power". Is there a way to do the technique using body weight instead of just arm strength? Can you use both? Can you time the 2 different forces for maximum efficiency?
To practice a martial art, a student must learn and diligently practice a number of physical skills. In some arts, the variety of skills is very broad, encouraging students to look at the big picture. In other arts, the skill set is more limited, but students are expected to dive deeply into the material that is there. In either case, the practice of physical skills eventually becomes a vehicle through which we can train something more esoteric. Instead of focusing entirely on self-preservation, training becomes a drive toward self-perfection.
Confucius wrote about a "lord's son", or "junzi" (君子), detailing what characteristics an effective ruler should have. While the term"junzi" started out denoting someone of noble birth, Confucius used it to describe a person of impeccable moral character. In a way, it's like the difference between a "nobleman", someone born into the aristocracy, and a "noble man", someone who exemplifies noble traits.
In the US Hapkido Federation, we use the Korean translation of 君子, pronounced kunja, to talk about what it means to be a good person and a good martial artist in today's world. Although times have changed since Confucius's day, we still need people to become moral exemplars, people of stellar character who can be a model for others. We encourage all of our students to reflect on what it means to be a kunja, both within the martial arts world and outside of it. As students progress through the ranks and begin to take on more leadership roles and responsibilities, we ask that they start putting some of these reflections down on paper, culminating in a 10-40 page paper that serves as part of their black belt test. To help with those reflections, here are some questions and resources that might spur some thoughts:
What virtues do you think make up a "noble" person?
Of these virtues, which are your strengths? Your weaknesses? How have you tried to improve these weaknesses?
How has your martial journey developed your character?
Further reading:
http://faculty.plattsburgh.edu/kurtis.hagen/keyterms_junzi.html
http://ushapkidofederation.wordpress.com/kunja-information/
http://www.indiana.edu/~iusdc/Kunja.html
Hapkido Principles
Hapkido has many principles that are continually repeated during one’s training. These principles are meant to guide the student in physical, mental and spiritual improvement. All Hapkido practitioners soon learn that the study of Hapkido is more than just a set of combative techniques. Hapkido is meant to only be used for self-defense or protection of others. The physical ability to fight well is usually considered to be just a secondary gain to the process of personal development. There are three main philosophical principles from which most all other principles stem from. These principles are the theories of harmony, water, and circles.
Harmony Theory
The harmony theory states that one must tune the body, mind, and spirit in order to achieve perfect synchronization with one’s environment and society. The word Hapkido can be translated into “the art of coordinated power”. Once someone has learned to coordinate their mind, body, and spirit then everything they do is with purpose and is in turn linked to the moment of its existence. This is a common Taoist concept. To achieve this state one must empty the mind and obtain total awareness of everything around them. By doing this one will become one with their environment and will flow in harmony with its changes in state.
Within this pillar, we also talk about the harmony of Yin and Yang (or Um and Yang in Korean). Yin and yang describe complementary opposites, things that are simultaneously completely different and yet define one another. Without light, there would be no concept of dark, without male there would be no female, without pulling, pushing would have no meaning. The interplay of these forces define the nature of the universe, so it's this harmony that must be maintained.
Water Theory
The water theory draws its ideas from the behavior of water. Water will always find the path of least resistance. When the path is obstructed with an obstacle it will apply constant pressure until the obstacle has been penetrated. If yet another obstacle is placed in the way it will adapt to this change and once again find its way. Water can be quite destructive to the obstacles in its way however its force requires little energy. Bruce Lee once said, "Empty your mind, be formless. Shapeless, like water. If you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water into a bottle and it becomes the bottle. You put it in a teapot it becomes the teapot. Now, water can flow or it can crash. Be water my friend."
Circle Theory
The circle theory is based off the idea of a circular universe. Circles are found in many cultures as symbolizing important concepts such as wholeness, perfect unity, eternity, and time. In the ranking systems of Hapkido a student starts out as a white and works their way through colored belts first until they reach the black belt. From there they progress through the different levels of black belts until they reach the tenth level at which they become grandmasters and once again wear a white belts. Most of the movements in Hapkido are based on circles. It is often said that to move in circles is to move in harmony with your opponent, self and the universe. If you don’t do this then you are fighting your opponent, yourself and the universe every step of the way. As it turns out this circular movement provides for a certain unpredictability that prevents your opponent from countering your actions and allows you to gain more leverage and strength in your techniques.